Will I Make It in Time?
by Vannie.2010
Summary: Sanada sprained his ankle for saving a girl. Sam repays him by playing tennis, which she doesn't know how. It makes it harder when she has to keep it a secret from her mother. Yukimura wants Sanada and Sam together but Kirihara likes Sam too. Rewritten.
1. The Problem and The Promise

First FanFic. Hope you Enjoy. ^^  
Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

Thank you to my three Beta Readers:  
OreChibiSama  
sadisticxXxbadass  
Smiley025  


* * *

Day 1. The Problem and The Promise.

Evening practice ended for the Rikkai Dai tennis team. Both the captain and co-captain, Yukimura and Sanada, were satisfied by the improvements their team had accomplished that day. With the hard strict training there was no such thing as losing in the upcoming matches. The next upcoming matches would be against Seigaku again.

Attending their second year at Rikkai Dai High School, Yukimura and Sanada regained their title as captain and co-captain. The regulars, once again, are the same line-up when they were in middle school.

Sanada placed the strap of his tennis bag over his shoulder. He started to walk when he realized Yukimura wasn't beside him. "Seiichi?" He turned around to see Yukimura standing in the middle of the tennis court.

"Hey Genichirou, do you want to play a quick match with me before you leave?" smiled Yukimura.

Sanada smirked and instead he walked towards his best friend, Seiichi. "Sure." He pulled the strap of his bag off his shoulder and placed it on the ground by the fence. About to unzip his bag, Kirihara ran onto the tennis court.

"BUCHOU! THAT ISN'T FAIR! I waited ALL week to play you, BUCHOU!" Kirihara whined. He had overheard Yukimura earlier when he was about to head home.

Sanada looked over at Kirihara and glared at him. Sanada, after five weeks, started to get sick and tired of Kirihara complaining every single day to play Yukimura. This time Sanada had enough. "Do whatever you want Kirihara. I'm going home. Later Seiichi." Sanada said in his emotionless tone. He picked up his tennis bag and turned around. He walked off the courts. Sometimes Sanada wished Kirihara would shut his mouth and be quiet for once. '_It's not all about you, Kirihara_.' Sanada thought to himself. In the background he heard the score being said.

"Game Yukimura! 1 game to Love!"

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

'_Ugh._ _I have so much homework tonight. I don't even see the point of doing homework_.' Sam thought when she walked home. '_I hate studying, period. I can't believe Mom is forcing me take to those stupid afterschool study class. Can't she see sometimes I need a break from my regular classes?! This is my first year in high school and she's already dumping college courses on me. My life sucks._'

Sam is a quiet girl who keeps everything to herself. She studies every single day by the demands of her harsh mother. With all the studies she does alone, Sam doesn't have the time to have a life of her own. For Sam to keep everything to herself, made her not a very social person to the world.

'_I think this bag keeps getting heavier and heavier everyday. Stupid textbooks. Oh-well._' Sam thought and continued her way home. The walk to and from school was the only time she had time to relax, away from any homework or anything relating to school.

-Whoosh- A big gust of wind blew by. The wind happened to knock Sam's black hat off her head. "NO! My favorite hat!" she reached out her hand trying to grab it. The hat rose higher and higher, flying off where ever the wind carried it. Sam chased her hat. '_I can't lose that hat! I just can't!_' Sam yelled in her head as she chased the hat down the street.

10 minutes later Sam finally had the chance to take a break, after her sprints up and down on the hills. Her hat was caught in a tree. "That's just great." Sam sighed. Without any thought, she climbed the tree with her heavy bag on her back.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sanada walked on, when he glanced to his side. He didn't know why he looked but he did. His gut forced him to look. Soon enough, he noticed a girl climbing a tree.

"What the?" Sanada never had seen a girl climb a tree before. The next thing he knew, the girl fell out of the tree. He kept his stoic face but in his head all he thought, '_Girls shouldn't be climbing trees in the first place_.'

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sam looked up to see her bag hanging from the branches. She didn't care if her bag hung there forever since she hated it. It carried all the books and papers she did every night since pre-school. The most important item to her was her favorite hat. "Where's my hat?" Sam said looking past her bag that hung. No hat in sight. Sam looked at the ground and noticed that her hat laid next to her unharmed. "I'm glad you're ok." she said softly. She picked up the hat with a smile on her face. -SNAP- Then, Sam heard something snapped above her. '_What's that sound?_'

"HEY! WATCH OUT!"

Before Sam could see who said that someone pushed her from behind. She quickly sat up after she got pushed from behind. She looked at her clothes, grass stains were printed everywhere. Sam got mad and turned around. "HEY! You ruin my fav-" She stopped when she saw a guy faced down on the ground.

"Hey. Are you ok?" her voice changed into of more of a concern tone. Not caring about the grass stain, Sam was more concerned about the guy who pushed her. She saw the guy moved a bit. Hoping he wasn't dead she poked the guy on the head.

"I'm fine. Get this bag off my leg. Its heavy." Sanada said in a grumpy voice not looking up at the girl he saved.

"Oh. Gomenasai." Sam quickly got up and ran over to lift her bag off his leg.

Sanada sat up. He looked at himself to see grass stains on his brand new uniform. Sanada had two other uniforms at home but this one was brand new. '_Let it go, Genichirou. Its washable_.' he told himself before he got angry. He looked up at the girl. "Is your bag full of bricks or something?" he said in a serious tone.

"Huh? Oh, no there my textbooks…that…I use it for school." Sam said slowly. Once she saw Sanada's face, her cheeks started to turn bright pink. The only way Sam thought of to control her blush was by focusing her attentions on her bag. She looked inside her bag to see if any of her books got damage. She didn't care if the books got burned, but she had to find something to distract her briefly until the blush went away. Then, Sam remembered the bag had been on the guy's leg. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Sanada looked at her, and then he turned his attention back to his injured leg. "I think I hurt my ankle."

This surprised Sam. "I'm so sorry. I think you should go see a doctor."

Sanada glared at her. "I don't need to see a doctor. It's not that bad. I can still walk on it." He lied to her. He knew his ankle was injured but going to the doctor and finding out it was broken was not the right choice in his mind. Worst would be telling Yukimura if it was actually broken.

Sam noticed he lied to her. "Let me see." Sam sat closer and gently touched his ankle with her fingers.

"Ow!" Sanada reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist.

"You do need to see a doctor." Sam stated. "Let me help take you there. There's a hospital down the street." Sam quickly got her stuff together. She stood up.

Sanada sighed deeply and held out his hand to the girl. Sam took it. When Sanada pulled strongly to get up, he was way too strong and accidently pulled Sam down.

-BAM-

"Oww." Sam lifted her head. When she opened her eyes she was looking directly into Sanada's eyes at very close range. She was memorized for a second before her face blushed deeply.

"Are you ok?" Sanada heard himself say. He felt a small headache coming, after both of their head collide against each other. Once their eyes meet…Sanada was memorized by her soft brown eyes for an instant. Sam quickly got up and then helped Sanada up as fast and painless as possible. She wanted this over fast before she died of too much blood to the head. Luckily Sanada hurt only one ankle. He could make it to the hospital by limping the way there. There was no exchange of words after the smash together.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sanada sighed deeply. "Seiichi going to kill Me." he said. He was sitting up on the edge of hospital bed.

Sam sat in a chair across from him. She played with her cap a bit while she waited. They waited an hour before the doctor confirmed they could leave. Sanada's condition confirmed as a sprain ankle and would recover in about three week.

"Excuse me. Who is Seiichi? What is he going to do to you? Is he important or something?" asked Sam curious. Her cheeks lit up a bit when she found her self asking too much questions. "I'm sorry."

'_Too many questions_.' Sanada could feel a headache coming. "Let me make it simple. First, Yukimura Seiichi is the Buchou of the Rikkai Dai tennis team. Second, I'm also on the tennis team. Third, we have important matches in three weeks top." Sanada said in a straight forward tone.

Sam didn't have to ask anymore questions, she got the idea. Sam felt an angry aura fill the room. She could tell he wasn't mad at her but what had happen to his ankle. "Um, thank you for saving me. In return, I would like to help you out with your tennis." Sam said in a quiet voice. She knew she couldn't play tennis well but she owed him a favor.

Sanada was taken aback by the girl's offer but his face remained stoic. '_I think she could help out. It looks like she's strong and fit because she carries all those heavy textbooks. She must have some talent in sports. Maybe she got some talent in the game of tennis_." Sanada thought it over and over in his head before making a decision. "In return, I would like you to take my place. No. 2 singles. Meet me at the Rikkai Dai tennis court tomorrow at 4pm." he said strictly. Sam nodded.

"Hai. I won't disappoint you." Sam bowed politely. She then glanced at the clock to see it was very late. '_Ah! I'm late! My mom is going to kill me!_' "I'm sorry but I have to go." She said.

Sanada nodded and Sam headed out the door. '_She better not be a late person._' Sanada thought. He sighed heavily. How was he going to explain this to Yukimura now.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

While walking home, Sam realized her biggest mistakes. One, she didn't know where Rikkai Dai's school was located. Two, she didn't know the meaning of her taking the 'No. 2 single'. Lastly, she didn't even own a racket.

'_I'm so stupid!_' Sam shouted in her head after she realized her mistakes.


	2. The Lateness and The Name

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.  


* * *

Day 2. The Lateness and The Name.

The next day. Sam ran around town trying to figure out where Rikkai Dai School was located. Sam stopped and asked a lady at a flower shop. "Excuse me. Can you point in the direction of Rikkai Dai?"

"The high school?" she asked nicely.

"Hai."

"Yes as a matter if fact I do. It's about three miles from here." The lady gave a sweet smile.

"Are you serious?!" Sam started to run off then ran back to the flower shop lady. "Excuse me again. In which direction?" The lady pointed down the street with a smile on her face. Sam ran off where her finger pointed. The lady heard a faint shout in the distance. "Arigato!"

'_I can't believe I'm late!_' Sam shouted in her mind. She ran as fast as she could down the street holding on to her hat. She didn't want to lose her hat again as she ran.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

'_I can't believe she's late!_' Sanada thought. Sanada was started to get more impatience. Checking his cell phone, he read 5:30pm. "SHE'S LATE!" he let out his anger by yelling. Nobody made Sanada wait.

'_Calm down, Genichirou. Wait another 10 minutes_.' he told himself this which made him calm down a bit. Sanada quickly looked around him to make sure no one heard him. He noticed he was the only one there at Rikkai. He thought for a moment then realized…why did he choose to show up at his school after he stayed home all day? '_I'm stupid for showing up to my own school_.'

Sanada waited and thought about things for a while. '_…I can't believe I've been here for two hours already and I haven't seen anybody around. I guess I'm safe for showing my face around here after I had stayed home all day_.' Sanada checked his phone again and noticed twenty minutes has gone by.

Sanada sighed and grabbed his belongings. Sanada questioned himself. '_Why did I get my hopes up that she'll actually do this? This isn't me at all._' He left the tennis courts.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sam finally made it to Rikkai Dai. She didn't want to check the time but she did. Looking at her phone it read 6:00pm. '_I can't believe I'm this late. I can't believe I'm 2 hours late_.' she thought calmly. It really didn't surprise her much because she knew it was her fault for not thinking before. Sam noticed the tennis courts but didn't see anyone. It was deserted. She sighed. "He won't forgive me now."

Sam started to walk home feeling upset about being so late, especially on the first day she had promise him.

2 Blocks later.

'_I hope he'll forgive Me_.' Sam hoped that he will. She walked passed a coffee shop. Right there, she noticed him sitting in front of the coffee shop. He sat at an outside table, drinking tea. She debated if she should apologize her way out or run away and never see the guy again. The next thing Sam found herself standing across the table.

"I'm so sorry!" Sam bowed deeply at Sanada without hitting her head on the table.

"Hm?" Sanada looked up from his cup of tea. He saw the girl from the day before in front of him. "You're late." he said in a strict serious tone.

"I'm sorry. I am truly sorry. Please forgive me. Please." Sam begged keeping her head down. She didn't dare look at his face. Sanada started to notice other people around them stopping to watch the scene. He started to feel uncomfortable from the people staring at them.

"Take a seat." demanded Sanada. Sam did what he told her to do. Then the people around them continued on with their own businesses. Before Sanada could speak Sam spoke first.

"I-I have something to tell you." she said quietly not looking directly at him but at his tea. "The reason I was late...I didn't know where Rikkai Dai was." It surprised Sanada. Sanada open his mouth to speak but she cut him off again. She still did not give any kind of eye contact to him. "Um, I don't how to say this. The stuff you told me yesterday I have no clue what you meant by them. I-I never really played tennis before." she said really quiet that Sanada barely manage to hear most of her words.

Sanada kept his straight face but inside his head, he couldn't control his emotions. '_WHAT?!_ _Now what am I going to do?!_' Sanada began to think things over and over through his head. '_I can't turn her down now, it's too late for that. I should have asked these things to her before. Dammit, and there's no one else to take my place_.' The first thing that came out his mouth, he asked "Do you own a racket?"

"No."

"I still need you to take my place. What do you know about tennis so far?" Sanada looked at her. Sam didn't look at him.

"Um…the basic rules, I guess."

"Okay. We'll go from there." Sanada got more serious. "Let me lay down the rules you need to follow. First, I don't want you late anymore. I don't accept that. Second, I will train you for three weeks until the upcoming matches and let me tell you. Since you have little experience, the training will double even maybe triple. It will depend on how fast you pick up on things. Third, I also would like you to train on your own time not just when we have practice. Got it?"

"Hai. I understand." Sam said lifting up her head, finally making eye contact with him.

"Good." Sanada looked at his tea. "…Do you want something from here?"

"No, it's ok." Sam replied quietly. Sanada only nodded. For some reason he found himself looking at Sam. He noticed that she wasn't in school uniform but in causal shirt and shorts.

"Why aren't you in uniform?" He asked all of a sudden.

"Uniform?"

"Don't you wear a school uniform at school?" Sanada asked again before taking another sip of his tea.

"Yeah, we do wear uniforms. I hate those uniforms though. Afterschool I walk down a block and change at an ice cream shop. Then I grab something to eat and walk home." Sam explained. "…Why do you ask? Do you really think someone would still wear their uniforms four hours later after they got out of school?"

"Some actually do." Sanada simply answered. He didn't know how to why he got into this topic. The question just slipped out without him thinking about it. "Let's drop this topic. I didn't mean to ask you that question."

Sam nodded and the two were silent for a while. "I have another question." Sam looked at him. "What's your name?"

"Um…Kamio. Kamio Sam. I mostly like to be called Sam, if you don't mind." Sam tried not to blush. It's the first guy who ever asked for her name. Mostly everybody she comes across in Japan either ignored her or they already called her 'the quiet one'.

"Kamio, huh? I rather go by Kamio. My name is Sanada. Sanada Genichirou." Sanada said. He grabbed his one leg crutch and then stood up. "Remember, I don't want you late. Meet me at the tennis courts same time as today." he said before he started to walk off.

"Oh yeah, I think your name doesn't really suit you. I thought it would be more of a girly name not a boys name. Oh-well, See ya." Sanada said. Sanada tried to be a little friendly and make it a little joke. On the other hand, Sam didn't know he was joking. Instead her tiny blush went away, and so did her attitude.

"Jerk." Sam quickly glanced behind and hoped Sanada didn't hear her say that. '_What's wrong with my name?_'


	3. The Slap and The Call

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

* * *

End of Day 2. The Slap and The Call.

Sam made it home late in the evening again. She had been greeted with a slap across her face by her mother. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" her mother yelled in a demanded voice. "YOU'RE LATE!"

"I'm sorry Mom. I've been at the library studying. I guess I lost track of time." Sam lied to her mother. '_I can't tell mom anything about me playing tennis_.'

"Dinner is ready. Next time call, ok?" her mother turned around and went into the kitchen. Sam walked right behind her.

"Mom."

"What is it? Don't tell me you're failing school already." she glared straight at her daughter.

"No, I'm not failing. I want to apologize. I'm sorry for being late." Sam apologized and bowed. "This week can I go straight to the library afterschool? I would like to get more studying done so I don't fall behind." Sam said in her normal tone. '_This is my only chance_.' Sam thought to herself.

The request made her mother happy. She smiled seeing her daughter wanting to study hard on her homework and projects. "Ok, under one condition. You have to tell me where you are at, at all times." smiled her mother.

"Arigato." Sam hurried and grabbed her dinner then went up to her room. She didn't have time to celebrate instead she had homework to do.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sanada didn't know what to do that evening. -Ring- -Ring- "Hello?"

"Hi Genichirou! Is everything ok? You didn't come to school today." Yukimura greeted and spoke on the other line.

"Hi Seiichi. Everything is fine." Sanada replied.

"That's good. Heh." Yukimura chuckled lightly. Sanada could already picture Seiichi with his usual friendly smile, meaning he didn't bought his lie at all.

"Fine. Something did happened. And you need to know about it." Sanada took a deep breath and braced himself. "I can't play in the next upcoming match. I'm sorry." There was a long silent pause.

"What happened?" Yukimura's voice completely changed. It was more a serious tone that demanded an answer.

"I was being careless and sprained my ankle. I had it checked at the hospital yesterday. The doctor said it'll heal in about three weeks." Sanada explained.

"…I'll find you a replacement tomorrow." Yukimura said.

"Seiichi. You don't need to get me a replacement. I found one yesterday." Sanada said quickly.

"Really? Then that's great!" Yukimura said happily on the other line. "So do I know this guy?"

"She's not a-" Sanada bit his tongue. He couldn't believe that one word slipped out of his mouth so easy. "Never mind what I said. I found a replacement and that's all that matters now."

"Hm…you're allowing a girl to be your replacement? This is new. I never expected you to allow such a thing." Yukimura said a bit surprised. He started chuckling on the other side of the line. "Is she cute?"

"…" Sanada didn't dare answer to that question. If he answered 'yes' or 'no', Yukimura would find a way to turn his words against him. Yukimura knew that Sanada wasn't going to answering his question, but that didn't stop him from getting some more information on this girl that changed Sanada all of a sudden.

"Tell me. How did you guys meet? Is she the one who sprained your ankle?" Yukimura asked.

"Seiichi…have you ever seen a girl climb a tree before?" Sanada asked. He already gave in and decided to tell Yukimura what happened between him and Sam.

"Um, no. I haven't seen a girl climb a tree before. But I seen some climbed the jungle gym before in kindergarten, and that was like when I was five. Heh." Yukimura chuckled. "What does a girl climbing a tree has to do with your love life? Were you two kissing in a tree?" Yukimura's chuckled went to fun laughter.

Sanada tightened his grip on his phone. "This has nothing to do with my love life, Seiichi! First she climbed a tree. Fell. Her bag was hanging on a branch, and it snapped! It was about to hit her! I ran! Then-then…" Sanada took a deep breath from his small outburst. "You know…I saved her. Her heavy bag sprained my ankle. She took me to the hospital and had it checked."

"Congratulation Genichirou! On the saving part." Yukimura said. "So that's what happened. It's a good thing that it's only a sprained ankle and nothing more. By the way, how did she get involved in being your replacement?"

"She offered to help out. I told her she has to take my place."

"Wait. Isn't that asking too much? I think that you went a bit far. You sure she can do it?" Yukimura asked. "You should have just told her to do something simpler. Make you lunch or something. Not a something big and important, like our upcoming matches."

"I know. That's the problem. I didn't think about it at first and just told her. She told me she'll do it." Sanada said. "Seiichi…I need a favor. I need your help to train her."

"Well, with your injury, yeah I help train her." Yukimura replied. "Just take it easy and don't push yourself that your injury gets worst. We need you back for the later matches."

"Thanks."

"Anyways, tell more about this girl." Sanada didn't respond. "Ok, I'll ask then. What's her name?"

"Kamio Sam." Sanada straight out said.

"Sam? That's a cool name for a girl. Sounds cute." Yukimura chuckled again. "What color is her hair? How tall is she? Does she have a boyfriend already? I need some answers Genichirou."

'_How do I get out of this?!_' Sanada pinched the bridge of his nose. He quickly thought of a way. "Well look at the time Seiichi. I have to go. I've got some homework to do. Later Seiichi."

"Hey Wait!"

"What? I really do have to go. If you really want to see her…she'll be at the tennis courts tomorrow afterschool." Sanada said.

"Really?"

"Yeah really. See ya tomorrow." Sanada put his thumb over the 'end' button.

"Wait Genichirou!" Yukimura exclaimed.

"Bye."

"WAIT!" Yukimura shouted. "One more question."

Sanada sighed. "Fine, but this is the last question."

"Since you're meeting her tomorrow…heh. Does that mean you have a date with her? Aww." Yukimura broke into laughter. He waited a couple of minutes for Sanada to reply, but nothing. Instead Sanada hanged up.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sanada hanged up. He couldn't believe how much Yukimura liked to talk when he's on the phone. Sanada didn't have anything else to do. He couldn't practice his dojo since his ankle, and he already finished his homework a long time ago.

'_Might as well get a good rest. It might be a long day tomorrow_.' he thought as she slid in bed and pulled the covers over him. '_I hope that day two will go well. I hope_….' Sanada drifted right off to sleep.


	4. The Marui and The Kirihara

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

* * *

Day 3. Practice 1. The Marui and The Kirihara.

Sam made it on time to the Rikkai Dai tennis court. When she got there she noticed Sanada. He stood there holding onto his crutch and talking to a couple of other boys that were standing next to him.

'_Great. He brought some friends over. I better not make a fool of myself_.' Sam thought to herself. She tugged the tip of her black cap down a little.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Sanada stood next to Marui and Kirihara, and talked to them.

"Hey Sanada. When do I get to see this girl Yukimura has been talking about?" asked Marui with a smile on his face. Sanada remember last night about the talk he had with Yukimura on the phone.

"There's nothing to be smiling about, Marui. And what are you and Kirihara doing here anyways?" asked Sanada. He took a quick glanced at his watch. '_She has 5 minutes to get her butt over here_.'

"Yukimura told us to come and help you out, since because he couldn't come today." Marui answered. He blew his gum.

"But, I DIDN'T WANT to be HERE!" whined Kirihara.

"Stop complaining, Kirihara." Sanada started to get a bit annoyed by the way Kirihara whined like a baby. "I don't want you here either, but I have no choice. If it's Yukimura's ordered, we have nothing to do but follow it."

"Hey Sanada. Over there. Is that your little sister?" Marui pointed to a girl. The girl he was pointing to had short black hair. It was like the same hair style as Shiraishi Kuranosuke's from Shitehouji. Her hair color matched Sanada's. To top it off, her hat was the exact same one Sanada wore on his head. With her small feminine figure it was easy to mistake them as siblings.

Sanada turned and saw Sam walking towards them. "No."

Sam was ready to greet them, but then was cut off before she could say a word. "Sanada how come you never told us you had little sister?" Marui asked. He smiled at Sam.

"I never told you because I don't have one." Sanada said.

Marui eyed Sanada. "Oh, I see. Being a big brother and protecting her, eh?" Marui teased and slapped Sanada behind on the back.

"He's not my brother." stated Sam.

Marui turned to her and smiled. "Well then, if you aren't his sister…do you want to hang out sometime with me? We could go-"

"MARUI!" yelled Sanada.

"WHAT?! You said she wasn't your sis-"

"SHE'S NOT! That also means NO FLIRTING!" Both of them started to argue each other. Marui never expected himself to argue with Sanada, but he couldn't wimp out. Especially in front of this girl. He had to show some toughness even though he knew there would be a smack waiting for him. Marui wished he could have paid more attention and took notes on how Niou talked back to Sanada.

Over to the side Kirihara stood there staring at Sam. For some reason his feet couldn't move. They were planted where they were. He couldn't help take his eyes off her. -Ba-bmp- -Ba-bmp- '_What's this strange feeling_?'

"YOU KNOW WHAT! 50 LAPS!" yelled Sanada ending the argument.

"ARGH!" Marui yelled angrily then went off to do his laps. At least it was laps and not a smack to the face. Sam got nervous and scared of Sanada.

Sanada turned his attentions to Sam. "Marui is sorry for wasting your time to practice." Sam didn't say anything. Sanada calmly asked. "Do you have a racket with you?"

"No, I'm sorry." Sam replied. She stared at the ground and hoped Sanada wouldn't be that harsh to her like he did to Marui.

Suddenly Kirihara felt his legs walking up to Sam. "Uh…you can…um…borrow one of mine." His face turned red. Kirihara quickly held out one of his rackets to Sam. He turned his head away to hide his blushing face from her.

"Thank you." Sam said quietly taking the racket slowly. He ran.

Sanada wondered why Kirihara had been so shy and his face beet red. On the other hand he didn't have the time to care about it right now. "Kamio. First go warm up. Kirihara will help you with that." Sanada's voice went back to his strict ordered tone. Sam nodded. "Kirihara I want you to-" Sanada looked around but didn't see him. He forgot that he ran off somewhere.

"MARUI! GO FIND KIRIHARA!" Sanada ordered. Marui stopped running in the middle of his laps and went to go find Kirihara.

"Sanada-s-sempai. Um, who are they?" Sam glanced up at him. He didn't look back at her.

"Marui Bunta and Kirihara Akaya. They're on the same tennis team as I am. Our captain ordered them to help out with your training." He looked down at her. "I don't need their help, but Seiichi-Anyways, I can't train you much in my condition." Sam nodded.

"SANADA! I FOUND HIM!" shouted Marui dragging Kirihara by the arm.

"Let go of me, MARUI!" Kirihara fought to get out Mauri's grip. When his eyes meet Sam's he fell forward.

"Stand up!" ordered Sanada to Kirihara. He stood. "Ok. First do stretches then afterwards 10 laps around the court. Then we will begin the first lesson." he ordered. Sam nodded. "Kirihara I want you to-" He looked over at Kirihara and notice his face all red. "KIRIHARA!"

Kirihara didn't respond. His eyes were looking at Sam. He couldn't feel anything except for his heart pounding inside of him. -Ba-bmp- -Ba-bmp- '_Why is my heart pounding_?'

"KIRIHARA!" Sanada wacked him behind the head. "STOP STARING!" Marui cracked up in the background. He couldn't stop laughing seeing Kirihara blushing then getting wacked by Sanada. Sanada lost his mind and got mad at both of them. He couldn't believe Marui and Kirihara were behaving like this.

"MARUI! KIRIHARA! GROW UP!" yelled Sanada. He back-handed them both. Sam's eyes widen in shock. She was now really scared of Sanada. She hurried and ran off do her stretches and laps before she ended up like them.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

After Sam ran her laps, Sanada waited on one side of the court. "Ok. Lets start off with your swings." With Sanada's freehand he demonstrated. He repeated the swing and Sam followed, matching her swings with Sanada's. After she got the hang of it, Sanada demonstrated some other way in swinging a tennis racket. "Got the hang of it?" he asked. Sam nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I'm getting the hang of it."

"Alright. Marui is going to serve you some hits from the other side of the court. Just try to hit them with the proper swing I taught you." Sanada crutched his way to the side lines where Kirihara stood.

"Ok, here's the first one." Marui served an easy serve. He served straight to her where she could hit it. Sam swung the racket, making contact with the ball. The ball flew straight up then landed right next to her.

'_Wow. That was sure embarrassing_.' Sam thought. Her face started to turn red.

"Don't worry about it. Here's another one." Marui serve another ball to her. This time, after the ball was hit, it flew the side of her court. Sanada sighed and looked away. Kirihara just watched.

It took a while for Sam to get the hang of it. All her hits started to hit the net but never made it over. Marui only served straight to her where she could hit it, so the whole time, Sam stayed in one spot.

"That's enough! Take a five minute break." Sanada ordered. Sam suddenly fell to her knees on the court. Sanada shook his head and left to think things over. '_We have a long way to go_.'

Marui walked over the other side and sat down next to Sam. He noticed her staring at Sanada and then looked away in disappointment. "Hey, don't worry about him. You're just a beginner, right? You'll get the hang of it later on." Sam sighed and fell back onto the court.

"…" Sam didn't know how to respond to Marui. She just watched the sky and waited for the five minutes to past by. Marui didn't mind. He chewed on his gum and watched whatever was interesting. He noticed Kirihara sleeping under a tree. He chuckled.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to go bug Kirihara." Marui said. He suddenly snatched Sam's hat.

"Hey! Give me my hat back!" Sam quickly sat up. Marui chuckled and place the hat back on Sam's head.

"Heh. You're cute." He said and then pushed the tip of Sam's hat lower that it covered her eyes. He stood up and left to go bug Kirihara. Sam blushed deeply. She pulled her hat over her face and fell back to the ground.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

After 5 minutes…

"Kamio. Will do the same thing but this time Kirihara will serve to the sides." Sanada explained to Sam the next part of the practice.

"Ok." Sam walked to the center of the court and then got into position. Kirihara served to the left of her. She ran to the ball. Stop. Then she followed into the swing until it made contact with the ball. Then the ball hit the net.

"Not bad. Here's another one!" Kirihara served to the opposite side. Sam ran, missing the ball by four inches.

'_Ugh, almost had it_.' she thought. She practiced for a while. When she hit the ball it always either hit the net or fell out of bounce. Half the time she missed it.

"_At least she's getting the hang of it_." Sanada thought. Practice continued. Marui and Kirihara switched serves back and forth, while Sanada studied her positioning and swings.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

"That's all for today." Sanada said. He packed his tennis equipment together. He looked at Sam. "See you tomorrow, and don't be late."

"I won't." Sam said. She sat on the court ground. '_Geez,_ _I'm so tired. It seems that Sanada wasn't that harsh on me today, but I get the feeling its going to be rougher tomorrow_.'

Sanada grabbed his stuff then left. Marui waved to Sam goodbye then left right behind Sanada. "See you tomorrow!" he smiled.

"See ya!" Sam waved back to Marui. Kirihara walked up to her.

"Um…I wanted to know…uh, I was wondering…" Kirihara wanted to ask her if he could walk with her home but his words wouldn't come out. He started to blush.

"Oh yeah!" Sam looked to her side and pick up the racket next to her. "Here you go. Thank you for letting me borrow it." Sam gave the racket back to him. Soon Kirihara's face was completely red. It almost looked like he would pass out any second.

"It-Its nothing." he looked at his racket. Then he made a difficult choice. "You can keep it if you want." Kirihara handed back the racket to her. He couldn't believe he was giving one of his rackets to her.

"I'm sorry." Sam said softly. She turned down his offer.

"Oh…" Kirihara felt disappointed.

"No, it's not that I don't want to. It's something personal." Sam said. She pictured her mother.

"It's alright." Kirihara shrugged.

"Well, see you tomorrow." Sam stood up off the ground. She took Kirihara's hand and shook it. "Thanks for the lesson." She smiled at him. She then left the tennis court.

Kirihara stared at his hand. '_That's it?!_'


	5. The Confrontation and The Captain

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

* * *

Day 4. Practice 2. The Confrontation and The Captain.

'_Its lunchtime, but I really have to hurry and finish this report_.' Sam thought. She began to get frustrated. Last night after practice she went straight home, skipped dinner to work all night on her homework until she fell asleep in her books. This morning Sam skipped breakfast as well as lunch, to take the time to work on her homework. It was close to the end of lunch time.

"There! I finished my homework." Sam said relieved.

-Ding Ding-

The bell to end lunch rang. Sam groaned. "Ugh, more work next class period."

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Lunch time at Rikkai Dai. Yukimura carried his lunch and went to go find Sanada. '_Hm, he should be somewhere around her in the lunch room. Ah, there he is_.' Yukimura smirked and made his way to the table where Sanada was eating his lunch. "There you are Genichirou. I've been looking all over for you." smiled Yukimura. He sat down next to Sanada.

Sanada sighed and gave up. He thought Yukimura wouldn't find him here but he did. '_Damn it. He found me. Now he's going to ask abo_-'

"So Genichirou how was practice yesterday?" Yukimura smirked at him. Sanada only nodded his head. "Well?" asked Yukimura.

"She needs to work more on her aim." Sanada said in his emotionless tone.

"Were Marui and Kirihara there? Did they help out?"

"Yeah. They stayed after practice to help out. They told me this morning they were going to help again today. I didn't say anything to them, but I don't want them to help out because I'll end up babysitting those two like I did yesterday." Sanada turned to Yukimura. "And where were you yesterday?"

"Oh, I was busy yesterday." Yukimura explained. "I tried contact you yesterday morning because something came up the last minute, but you didn't answer. So I told Marui and Kirihara to help you out because I couldn't be there. And I don't think it's a bad idea if that Marui and Kirihara continue to help out with Sam's training."

"Well, I think it's a bad idea." Sanada stared at Yukimura. "Hey, are you going stay after practice today?"

"Yeah. I can't wait to see her." A sweet innocent smile spread across Yukimura's face. "Tell me about yesterday. What's she like?" he teased Sanada.

"…" Sanada didn't even want to try to answer that question. He didn't want to answer any question relating to Sam as a matter of fact. He sat there with a straight face.

"Come on! Tell me something about her." Yukimura tried to get his friend interested in something else rather then 24/7 hours of tennis. He thought that having a girl in Sanada's life might be a good idea.

The Bell rang. '_Thank you! I'm saved by the bell!_' Sanada thought happily but didn't express it on his face. "I have to get to class, Seiichi. See you later." Sanada grabbed his crutch, and then left as fast as he could.

'_Darn it! I almost had him! Agh, I hate that bell_.' thought Yukimura to himself, but he smiled and waved at Sanada as he left.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Somewhere outside of the Rikkai Dai during lunch…

"Hey Kirihara." smiled Marui. He popped out from behind a tree and startled Kirihara.

"What do you want? If you think you can have my dessert think again. I already ate it." Kirihara said in a mean tone. He wanted peace and quiet to think some things but his moment had been ruined by Marui.

"Don't worry about that. I can always go to Yukimura and ask him for some sweets." Marui popped his favorite green bubblegum.

"Why are you here then? Go and leave me alone." Kirihara growled at Marui.

"Calm down. I just came to tell you something. Do you remember when we told Sanada that we were going to stay after practice again? Well, today Yanagi and Yukimura are going to stay too."

Kirihara looked straight up at Marui in shock. "WHAT?! NO! I don't want them to come! Well, not today at least." Kirihara blushed and started mumbling the rest of his speech.

Marui smirked, "Well, that isn't for you to decide." His smile grew bigger. "I think you have some competition."

Kirihara eyes widen. "Competition?! I'm not the only one who-" Kirihara quickly covered his mouth to stop himself from saying any more. Marui watched in amusement at how Kirihara reacted. He thought it was funny and burst out laughing.

"HA! HA!" Marui couldn't stop himself from laughing. The way he saw Kirihara's face was priceless.

Kirihara quickly stood up. He shoved Marui out of the way and ran to find Sanada. He left leaving Marui laughing to death on the ground. '_I can't have them come!_ _I want to spend some more time with her without too many people around_.' Kirihara admitted to himself that he had some feelings for her.

Once he reached the cafeteria the lunch bell went off. It was the end of lunchtime.

'_Damn it!_' Kirihara shouted in his head. Everyone began to walk to their classes. He had no choice but to follow and go to class.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Afterschool Sam stopped by at a nearby store. She stopped by the store to grab a quick snack to fill her hunger. Sam looked at her watch and saw that she time was running out. '_AH! I got 7 minutes to get to practice!_'

Sam hurried and paid for her snack then ran to Rikkai Dai tennis courts. She only bought a light snack, a small turkey sandwich and a bottle of water. '_Ugh, I'm so hungry but I can't be late. I'll ask Sanada if I can eat first when I get there_.'

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Once again Sam barely made it on time. She walked over to Sanada who sat on the bench looking at his watch. "You barely made it." was his only statement.

"Um, Sanada-sempai? Can we wait a bit before practice starts? I haven-"

"NO! Practice starts now. Marui is over there waiting. Start your warm ups and then go meet him." ordered Sanada. Sam sighed as she stared at the ground. She knew she couldn't argue with him. "Hey. Don't act like that. Now go." Sanada said. Sam nodded and then ran off. She went to do her warm ups like she was suppose to. After the warm ups she walked over to Marui.

Yukimura stood by Sanada. '_Oh-my…she's really cute. This has got to be Sanada's future wife_.' Yukimura smiled. "Hey Genichirou, can we talk for a moment?" Sanada stared at Yukimura for a minute. Before Sanada could response, Yukimura already walked off. Sanada sighed and followed behind slowly.

"Let's get started." smiled Marui. He gave her a racket. Sam only nodded. Sam started to practice with Marui. She practiced the same lesson as yesterday. Marui served the ball in front of her where she can hit it. He notice Sam got a little bit better. Her returns were a bit faster but still it did not go over the net.

"That one was better. Keep it up!" Marui smiled to encourage her. Sam nodded seriously. She too did notice her steady improvements but she knew it wasn't good enough.

Marui served a faster serve this time. Sam ran then suddenly her vision shifted and threw off her balance for a brief moment. Sam stopped and the ball flew past her. '_Wait, what's going on? I'm think I'm starting to get dizzy. WAIT! Focus SAM! I can't think about that right now. I have to improve._' Sam told her self.

Marui noticed something went wrong. For a moment he saw something different in her. '_Something is wrong_.' Marui thought. '_Hm, it might not be a big deal right now_.' Marui grabbed another tennis ball and this time served a softer serve to her.

Sam ran. Her vision blacked out for a second, but Sam pushed her self to keep running. She lost her balance again and this time she fell forward onto the ground. '_…What's wrong with me…?_'

"Sam! Are you alright?!" Marui jumped the net and ran to her. '_I knew it. Something is wrong_.'

Sam sat up and then adjusted her hat. "Yeah, I'm alright." Sam stood up and got into position again. Marui gave a concerned look to her. "I'm fine, really. Go ahead and serve another." Marui and Sam started to practice again. '_I have to focus_.'

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Over to the side Kirihara worked on his homework under a tree. Sanada didn't want him to slack off so he ordered Kirihara to work on his homework until it was his turn.

"Sam! Are you alright?!" Kirihara shot his head up when he heard Marui shouting. He looked over to Sam's side of the court and sitting up on the ground.

"I'm fine, really. Go ahead and serve another." he heard Sam say. When Kirihara heard those words, he went back to doing his homework. '_Don't scare me like that_.' Kirihara thought.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Yanagi stood on the sideline of the tennis court with his arms folded. He had been standing there with his eyes close the whole time. Yanagi watched every moment Sam made and studied it. '_Hm_.'

Yanagi's mind had been doing so much. He studied every moment. Her speed, strength, reflex, timing, everything. And calculated what might she needed to improve on her play. Then his mind tried to start calculating and creating a training menu but nothing would work. Choosing what nutrition she needed in her system was starting to become a pain. Exercises and training that could strengthen her muscles had to wait. One thing that Yanagi knew he had to watch for was…what kind of style or type of player she was. He could make so much mistakes to her health if didn't find out everything about her and accidently calculated everything wrong. '_…I can't do anything right now…so all I can do for now is gather data…_'

Sam noticed the guy standing there but she didn't really pay attention to him until now. She didn't know what he was doing except that he faced her. It started to kind of creep her out a bit. '_Is he watching at all_?' Sam thought and then she went back to focus on her shots.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Yukimura, unnoticeable, clenched his fist. '_This is my chance to get Genichirou to talk. Time to try again and this time I will make him talk_.' thought Yukimura. He stopped around the corner and waited for Sanada to turn the corner as well.

"What is it, Seiichi?" Sanada asked when he turned the corner. Yukimura only smiled.

"I just wanted to talk to you about her, that's all." Yukimura said in his innocent voice. Sanada twitched his eyebrow. "She is sure pretty cute, don't you think? I can't believe an innocent girl like her sprained your ankle." Yukimura chuckled a little.

Sanada turned his back to him. "I don't have time for this conversation. I have to get back-"

"Why don't you give yourself a chance? Go and ask her out. I'm sure you two will be happy together." Yukimura said in a serious voice. Sanada didn't show any emotion on his face.

"Seiichi. This is practice." he told his friend. Yukimura didn't let that stop him.

"Maybe, this whole situation is fate!" Yukimura exclaimed. Sanada quickly turned around and looked at his captain. Inside Sanada's head, he knew where Yukimura was going with this conversation.

"What are you talking about? This is not fate, Seiichi. And it will never be. Drop this whole love thing right now." Sanada stared down at Yukimura with his hard expression.

"Admit it! You like her! You just haven't realized it yet." Yukimura said strongly even though he was putting words into Sanada's mouth. Yukimura promised himself a long time ago that he will find love for Sanada, and he would do anything for that to happen. Yukimura hated that Sanada was now 17 and he had watched him turned down girls for the past 8 year because of tennis. It wasn't because Yukimura wanted Sanada to stop playing tennis. But because he wanted someone to be close to him…a girl. He didn't want Sanada to grow up single and live life alone. He wanted him to live and share a life with someone special, because he knew he wouldn't be there much longer since he would go find a life of his own soon.

"And you know?!" Sanada shouted. "You just meet her a few seconds ago! There is no way you know my feelings and/or hers!"

"Then why in the world would you let her play in your spot?" Yukimura now had a serious look on his face. "You could have told me earlier when you were at the hospital. I would have found you a better replacement. Instead you tell me about this whole thing after you already told her to do the job."

Sanada no longer looked at Yukimura. He stared at the ground. '_Yes, I got him._' Yukimura smirked mentally. He kept his serious face on.

"Seiichi. First, Kamio said she wanted to repay me for saving her. That's it." Sanada turned his back again. "Excuse me. I have to go use the restroom."

Yukimura stood there in shock. Inside his head he burst. '_Damn it! I thought I was so close!_'


	6. The Faint and The Laps

Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.

* * *

Day 4. Practice 2. The Faint and The Laps.

Sam started to get dizzier. Her vision was a blur to her. '_Why is this happening to me_? _My head is spinning like crazy_.' she thought.

Marui couldn't watch her struggle any longer. He stopped his serve and ran over to her side of the court. "You need to take a break. Do you feel sick?"

"I just feel a bit dizzy. That's all." Sam managed to say. Her grip on the racket loosened. It dropped it to the ground.

"Sit down. I think you practiced a bit hard out there." Marui gave her a gentle smile. He helped Sam sit down in the middle of the court.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Kirihara looked up from his homework. '_What the_-' Kirihara quickly stood up and ran to Marui and Sam. "What happened?!" he glared at Marui thinking he did something to her.

"She says she's a bit dizzy. I think she practice a bit hard." replied Marui to Kirihara. –THUD- Both Marui and Kirihara heard a thud next to them. They turned there heads and saw Sam passed out on the ground.

"What the-" Marui was in shock.

"You DID do something to HER!" Kirihara yelled at him. He picked Sam up in his arm. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" his voice yelling in anger. Not waiting for an answer he ran to find his captain, Yukimura, with Sam in his arms. "BUCHOU! Marui did something to her!"

"NO I DIDN'T!" Marui ran after Kirihara.

Kirihara and Marui found Yukimura a few minutes after running around in circles clueless. "Buchou, I don't know what happen. You have to help her!" Kirihara started to panic a little.

"Hm." Yukimura looked at Sam passed out in Kirihara's arms.

"Buchou!" Kirihara began to get impatient, worried, and angry all at the same time.

"Did she eat anything?" asked Yukimura in a calm voice.

"There is a 97% chance she didn't eat anything in the last 24 hours." Yanagi explained as he walked up to them.

'_Hm. This could be my chance to get Sanada_-' Yukimura thoughts were cut off when he heard Sanada's voice.

"What's going on?" Sanada demanded.

Not wasting another second Kirihara ran to a nearby tree with Sam. He placed her in an up right position under the shade. Kirihara grab his tennis bag. He quickly dug through his bag as fast as could. There he found his water bottle and pulled it out of his bag. "Sam. Drink some water." Kirihara took Sam's hand and placed his water bottle in her hand. Sam, barely awake, heard his faint voice. She managed to drink some water, but still felt completely weak.

"Did you eat anything today?" Kirihara had a worried tone, but the others couldn't hear him from where they were.

"No, I didn't the have time." Sam said quietly. Kirihara barely heard her respond.

"You're an idiot for not eating." Kirihara said. He noticed his hand on top of Sam's hand holding his water bottle. He blushed. "D-Drink some more water."

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

'_What the heck?! Argh, I can't have Akaya in the way!_' thought Yukimura. He watched Kirihara take care of Sam. '_That's supposed to be Sanada's job to tend her_.'

"What's going on?" Sanada repeated raising his voice. He got their attentions.

"Uh, Sam fainted." explained Marui.

"WHAT?!" Sanada exclaimed. He didn't bother to stay. He walked with his crutch over to the tree where Kirihara and Sam were.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Kirihara handed Sam one of his sandwiches. One of the sandwiches he didn't get a chance to eat during lunch. "Here. You should eat something. How can you be so careless?"

"You were being careless, Kamio. Why did you let such a thing happen?" Sanada said in a harsh voice. Sanada stood right behind Kirihara.

"Sanada-fukubuchou?!" Kirihara stood up. He moved aside.

"I'm sorry, Sanada-sempai." Sam said not looking at him.

"What did you fainted?" Sanada asked, demanding an answer.

"…I haven't eaten." answered Sam. She felt like he was going to slap her anymore because he sounded angry. Sam pulled her knees up close to her and hugged her legs. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

Sanada then remembered. '_Um Sanada-sempai? Can we wait a bit before practice starts? I haven-' Sam started to say before see was cut off by him_ _'NO!-'_

Sanada sighed mentally. '_Why did I act that way? This is my fault_.' "Take a 10 minutes break." was his only comment. Sanada turned around and left towards the others.

Kirihara sat back down in front of Sam. "Here." He handed Sam a piece of Lime pie.

"AKAYA?!" Marui clearly saw the piece of sweet. He ran over to the two and pointed at Kirihara, "You lied to me?!"

"Shut up Marui." Kirihara said in a dark tone.

Marui didn't pay attention to Kirihara. Instead he bent down next to Sam. "Can I have some of that pie?" Marui give the sweetest smile.

"NO! Don't let him have any!" Kirihara glared at Marui. Sam started to feel a bit uncomfortable between the two going at each other.

"BUNTA! AKAYA! GET OVER HERE!" Sanada yelled.

'_Uh-oh_.' Both Marui and Kirihara thought at the same time. They knew what was coming when Sanada became angry like that. Slowly they walked up to their captains.

-Smack!-

-Smack!-

"Don't repeat yesterday's behavior. Kamio isn't feeling well and you two are yelling at each other in front of her. Grow up!" Sanada yelled. He stared down at the two teenage boys he backhanded.

"Yes sir." Both of them said.

Yukimura smiled. "10 laps."

"WHAT?!" Marui and Kirihara looked at their captain.

"20 laps." Kirihara and Marui shut their mouths to keep them from complaining. Both of them hurried and started their laps before they got assigned more laps.

…**Sanada…Sam…Kirihara…**

Yanagi walked over to where Sam was sitting. "Kamio, when was the last time you ate?"

"Huh?" Sam looked up to see the guy that kind of creep her out, stood besides her. He wasn't that creepy at all. Sam thought it was only creepy seeing him walking around with his eyes closed. "Um, yesterday at lunch." she answered Yanagi. Sam took another drink from the water bottle.

"Why is that?"

Sam stared at the bottle in her hand. "Homework got in the way."

"Can you explain?" Yanagi nicely asked Sam.

"Why do you need to know?" Sam questioned him back. She took a bit of the sandwich that was given to her earlier.

"Data. I'm trying to come up with a menu for you." Yanagi explained. "A practice routine."

Sam took a deep breath. "I'm not suppose to be playing tennis in the first place. I'm suppose to be-"

-Ring- -Ring- Sam heard her phone go off. She took out her phone and looked at it. The caller I.D. read 'Mom'. Sam looked up at Yanagi. "Excuse me." Yanagi nodded.

"Hello."

"…"

"Yeah, I'm at the Library studying." This caught Yanagi's attention. He opened his eyes and watched her.

"…"

Yanagi started to see Sam was hurting inside by the look in her eye, but her voice didn't express it. Instead it was the complete opposite. '_Your eyes can't lie, it says it all_.' he thought.

"Ok…um, mom. I'm going to be a bit late. I have to work on a project afterwards and it's going to take some time."

"…"

"No, you don't have to leave any food for me. I'll pick up something on the way home."

"…"

"Bye." Sam hanged up.

"I get it." Yanagi said. Before Sam could question him about what he meant by that, he left.

Sam sat there and stared at her phone. She clenched her phone tightly. '_I'm sorry for lying to you, but I want to play sports again_.'

Yanagi walked to the side of the tennis court where his stuff was. He pulled out his notebook and started to write down what he collected. He knew it was going to be harder than it looked to come up with a training menu. He now had to create something that her mother won't notice the sudden change. '_I need more data_…'


	7. Yukimura's Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.  
Thanks to one of my Beta Readers for Beta Reading.  
****  
****Enjoy ^^**

* * *

Kirihara ran his last lap. When Kirihara finished he noticed Sam sitting quietly under the tree. Her arms wrapped around her head with her knees up to her chest. He thought Sam still wasn't feeling good. "Are you ok?" Kirihara asked, sitting down next to her. He tried to put his hand on her back, but he stopped himself the last minute.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Sam looked up from her arms to Kirihara. Kirihara quickly pulled his hand down. "Thanks for asking." She gave a gentle smile.

A blush flashed a crossed Kirihara's face after seeing that smile from her. He turned his head to hide the redness on his face. "That's good.-"

"Sam!" Sanada called out. "10 minutes are up! Can you continue on with practice?"

Sam stood up not noticing Kirihara's redness. "Yeah, I think I can still continue."

Sanada nodded. "You're up Kirihara." Kirihara stood up as well and nodded to Sanada.

"Here." Kirihara said holding out a racket to Sam. Sam took the racket. "Thank you." She examined the racket. It had been the same racket he let her borrow yesterday.

Both of them walked onto the court and they started to practice. Sanada observed from the sidelines. "_Where did Seiichi go_?" Sanada looked over to the side and found him talking with Yanagi. "_What is up to now_?" Sanada hoped Yukimura wouldn't pull any of his tricks on him today. Ignoring the thoughts about Yukimura and what he was up to, he turned his attention back to the two practicing.

Marui then came over and sat down on the ground next to the bench Sanada was sitting on. "Heh." smiled Marui. His little chuckle caught Sanada's attention. He looked over to Marui.

"What's so funny?" Sanada asked in a bit harsh tone to Marui.

"Oh nothing." smiled Marui popping his bubble gum. "Hey Sanada. Do you think Sam can pull this whole training off? Then be ready when the matches are here?"

"Actually…" Sanada looked over to Sam practicing. He saw how Sam was trying her best to improve. Even though she kept hitting the net over and over, he noticed her determination to continue until she got it right. "…Yeah. I think she can pull it off."

After hearing Sanada's answer and the way he watch her practiced a moment ago, Marui knew Sanada was serious about having Sam ready for the matches. Marui only grinned.

"_I'm glad Seiichi wasn't here to hear that_." thought Sanada relieved. "_He would definitely turn my words around and make it mean a whole different thing_."

----------

"So, she's willing to do this whole thing for Sanada even though it can emotionally hurt her?" asked Yukimura. Yukimura found out that Sam had to keep this whole tennis training a secret by talking with Yanagi.

"Yup. I completed a whole schedule for her, from morning to night." Yanagi handed the piece of paper to Yukimura.

"That some secret alright." Yukimura looked at the schedule Yanagi created. "Then again. You came up with a great plan, Yanagi." Yukimura handed back the schedule to him. "Her mother definitely won't find out." A smile appeared on Yukimura's face.

"_Don't worry Sam. We'll make sure your mother never finds out about you playing tennis_." he thought. "_And the secret when you and Genichirou are finally together_." "Yanagi. I don't want Kirihara to know anything about Sam's schedule. Make sure of that." smiled Yukimura. "_He would surely mess up my plans bringing Sam and Genichirou together_."

----------

"Here's another one!" Kirihara smiled and hit another serve. Sam ran to the left and hit the ball backhanded.

For a few seconds there was silence.

A smile appeared on Sam's face. The ball happened to be on the other side of the net. Kirihara smiled. "Lets try that again." Again Kirihara served another serve. The racket Sam had, made contact with the ball. The tennis ball hit the tip of the net and fell on the other side.

"Again." Kirihara served to the right side of Sam. She ran. Stop. Making contact with the racket, the ball flew. Hitting the tip of the white strip it fell dead on the other side. "Good." Kirihara smiled at Sam. "It's what you call hitting a net cord."

"Net cord?" Sam asked. He nodded to her. "Now lets speed things up a bit." Kirihara started to serve in different spots on the court at faster pace. The results were always the same. Net cord. Dead on the other side.

"_Hm. Net cords are suppose to be a 50/50 shot, but the last 20 shots they ended up over on my side of the court_." thought Kirihara serving another serve. A smile appeared on his face. "_She's fun_."

----------

Practice went on. It was close to sunset. "That enough for today!" Sanada called out to Sam. Sam had finished practicing with Marui.

"I'm tired." Sam said panting as she sat on the tennis court.

"You're really improving." Sanada said as he crutched his way to her. He handed her a water bottle. "But you still lack stamina."

Sam shot a questioning look. "What's 'stamina'?"

Sanada looked at her with his stoic look but in his mind he couldn't believe what he heard. To make it simple for her, he said "Energy." "_I think she practiced too hard that her mind had shut down on her. How could she not know the word 'stamina'_?!" This ran through Sanada's mind.

Yukimura and Yanagi walked over to the other four people on the tennis court. "Sam. Here's your schedule." said Yanagi handing the paper to her. Sam took it and glance the paper over.

"This…" Sam continued to look over the schedule. "…this is brilliant. Thank you." she looked up at Yanagi and smiled at him. As Sam smiled at Yanagi, over to the side Kirihara could feel a hint of jealously build up in him. For some reason he didn't like Yanagi receiving that smile from Sam. To him that smile was special to him. Kirihara only had one thought of how to stop that smile, he spoke up.

"Sam…would you like to go get a bite with me?" He had a serious look meaning that he was true to his words. There wasn't a single blush or redness on his face. Sam looked up at him. "Um-"

"_NO_! _I can't let Kirihara get in the way_!" Yukimura shouted in his head. Calmly with a smile on his face he said "Kirihara you have to do your homework. You need to study for tomorrow's English test. That means you need lots and lots of time to study. Don't worry Kirihara, Sanada will take her."

"WHAT?!" came the out burst of both Sanada and Kirihara.

"_HA_! _HA_! _That was priceless_!" Marui laughed when he saw the reaction from both of them.

"_I better not get involved_." thought Yanagi watching their reaction as well.

"I'll be ok Yukimura. I have to get home soon to start on my homework." Sam said feeling a bit uneasy after seeing the reaction from Sanada and Kirihara. "_What is it between those two_?"

"Nonsense. Sanada will go with you to get something to eat, while Kirihara studies for his test." Yukimura gave one of his evil grins towards Kirihara. Kirihara didn't like the idea and he tried to change Yukimura's mind. "But Buchou, Sanada's ankle-"

"He'll live. Sanada need to exercise the ankle, right?" Yukimura smirked towards Sanada. Sanada knew never to argue or challenge his captain, Yukimura. Or something bad will happen in return and Sanada didn't want to know what kind of payback Yukimura would do.

"_I hate you Seiichi_." thought Sanada. He turned to Sam. "Get your stuff ready. We'll stop at this small food place I know." Sanada looked over at Yukimura with a glare. "_Are you happy know_?" It seemed Yukimura knew what Sanada was saying and he nodded to him satisfied.

'Ok. See you tomorrow, Sam. Lets go Yanagi, Kirihara." Yukimura smiled to Sam. Then he gestured to his teammates to leave. The three of them left.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Marui called out running after them. Sam looked down to what her hand continued to hold on to. "_Kirihara's racket_!"

"Hold on Sanada." Not waiting for a responds Sam ran after Marui. "Marui wait!"

Marui turned around and found Sam only five feet from him. "What's up?"

"Can you give this back to Kirihara? Its his racket." Sam explained holding out the racket to Marui.

"Ok. I'll give it to him." Marui said taking the racket. "See you tomorrow. Oh yeah, Sanada maybe kind of meanie at first but he does have a soft side. It might take him a while to show it." Marui smiled and winked at Sam. He turned around and left.

"_What is he talking about_?" thought Sam. She had a questioning look on her face as she walked back to Sanada.

"Are you ready to go?" Sanada asked putting his tennis bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, we can leave. Oh, let me carry that for you." Sam said taking his tennis bag from him. "Don't want to you have too much things on your hands."

"Thanks." Sanada said. He and Sam started to walk the other direction. Sam followed him, because he knew the way to the place they were going to eat at.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Reviews are always welcome.****  
Questions, concerns, or complaints are also welcome.**

**If your confuse a bit. Here's a brief outline.  
Sam:** Girl that is in training. Considers everyone Friends/Coaches.  
**Sanada:** Sprain Ankle. Serious about training Sam to be ready for the matches. Knows Yukimura is trying to get him to know more about Sam, but Tennis comes first then anything.  
**Yukimura:** Plans to get Sanada and Sam together. Prevents Kirihara to get any closer to Sam.  
**Kirihara:** Practices training Sam. Likes Sam.  
**Marui:** Practices training Sam. Knows Kirihara likes Sam. Knows somewhere deep deep down, Sanada will start to have feelings towards Sam. also enjoys the reactions from both Sanada and Kirihara.  
**Yanagi:** He will keep Sam in shape and what she need to build on. Creats the menu. Staying out of the personal relationship issue.  
**Other regulars:** They will be in the story but later on.

**I hope that helped a bit if the story was a bit confusing.**

**Thanks.**


	8. Burgers for Dinner

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.  
Thanks to one of my Beta Readers for Beta Reading.  
****  
Enjoy ^^**

* * *

The whole time Sanada and Sam walked together, they didn't say a word to each other. Sanada took Sam to a small burger shop he knew. Both of them stood in front of the burger place.

"Were here." He said.

Sam didn't look at him. "You didn't have to bring me here." she said quietly.

"Just get your ass in there. It's too late to turn around now, were already here." Sanada ordered but not to harsh. Sam opened the door for Sanada because of his injury. Sanada picked a small table for two in a quiet corner. Being a respectful gentleman, Sanada took off his hat at the table. He looked over at Sam. She still had her hat on.

"Hat." the only word he had to say to her until she got the picture. Sam took her hat off as well. "Thank you."

"Hello. I'll be your waiter this evening. Here are your menus." The waiter handed two menus to Sanada and Sam. "What drinks would you two like to start out with?"

"We'll have two ice teas. That's all." Sanada said. The waiter nodded then left to get their drinks.

"What would you like to have?" Sanada asked politely as he looked over the menu. "_I think I'll have the double burger_."

"Um…" Sam looked back and forth between the menu and her schedule. "…He put down vegetables as one of the choices, no hamburger…hm." She said quietly. Finally she made up her mind. "I think I'll have the salad."

Sanada looked over his menu and stared at her. "Are you serious?"

"What?" Sam looked straight at him. "What's wrong with that?!"

Sanada only shrugged. "Nothing." He went back to look at the menu.

Few minutes later the waiter came over to there table, placing the ice teas on the table. "Are you ready to order?" Sanada nodded. The waiter pulled out her notepad and pen.

"We would like two hamburgers, one double burger, a large side order of fries, and…" Sanada looked over at Sam. "…a small salad. That will be all."

"Alright. It'll be ready in about 15 minutes." The waiter said taking the menus then heading over to another table to fill their orders.

"You're going to eat three hamburgers and a large stake of fries?" Sam asked Sanada. "_What were you thinking_?!"

"No. The two hamburgers are yours. We can share the fries." Sanada explained. He noticed one of Yanagi's creative menus. "Did Yanagi made that for you?"

"Uh, yeah. He did." Sam handed over the menu to him. Sanada took the menu and  
looked it over.

Sam was curious about why Sanada ordered all those food. "Why did you get me-"

"They have the best burgers here." Sanada interrupted. He didn't look up from the schedule. Sam opened her mouth to speak but Sanada saw it coming. "And I don't want you fainting again."

Sam didn't know how to respond to that. Instead she sat there quietly. So did Sanada after he return the schedule back to Sam. It was completely silent for about 7 minutes. Sam got really bored. She placed her head on the table.

"_She must be tired_." thought Sanada staring at her. A question came into his mind. "Why Sam?"

"Huh?" she asked softly keeping her head placed on the table.

"Why is your name Sam?" he asked. Sam shot her head up and at looked straight at him in the eye. "Are you going to make fun of my name? Or are you talk about why my name isn't girly enough for you?"

Sanada was a bit surprised by her reaction; however he didn't express his emotion that easily. Then he remembered yesterday when he said, '_I think your name doesn't really suit you. I thought it would be more of a girly name_.' "No, I didn't mean that way. I want to know why your name is Sam? Its English." He said.

"Oh…My father picked the name. My dad is American."

"You don't look American." Sanada said. He looked Sam over again but he still couldn't tell she was part American.

"My mother is Japanese. I mostly got her looks." Sam said. Her tone of voice changed when the word 'mother' came out of her mouth. Sanada heard the sudden change in her voice. "_I have a feeling she doesn't like her mother_."

Sam noticed her change of tone. "I'm sorry for getting mad." Sam looked down at the table feeling ashamed.

Sanada didn't know what over came him. Slowly he lifted Sam's head with his hand until her eyes meet his. "Why don't you like your mother?" he asked softly. Sadly Sam didn't think about Sanada's sudden action.

"She's too strict!" Sam snapped. "All she cares about is me getting good grades. Getting into the best college there is. My mother wants me to end up like her, a well paid lawyer! She never thinks about what I want. Only herself. SHE ONLY CARES ABOUT HER REPUTATION!" Sam slammed her head on the table.

Sanada barely flinched when her head hit the table. Some people nearby jumped at the sound, and their attentions went to their table. "She's fine." Sanada told them kindly, breaking the stares they received. Sanada looked back at Sam with her head still on the table. "Don't hurt yourself." he said going back to his emotionless tone.

"Sorry." Sam apologized.

The food came. "Here is your food…" The waiter said putting the food down on the table. "…And here's your check. Enjoy." The waiter left the two.

The first thing Sam did was reach for the check. Sanada stopped her by grabbing her hand. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked Sanada as he let go of her hand.

"Look. I don't do this often for anybody. Enjoy the food, ok?" he said trying not to be mean but his voice carried that harsh tone. Sam nodded not looking up at him.

Both of them ate quietly not saying a word to each other.

----------

Over at another table.

"Heh. It looks like fukobuchou finally got a girl, and a cute one too."

One of the waiters walked by. "Excuse me…"

----------

Sanada and Sam finished their meals.

"Thank you." Sam thanked Sanada for the meal.

"Your welcome." He said. Then he finished his ice tea. A waiter walked up to them. "Here you go." said the waiter as she placed a Banana Split on the table.

"I'm sorry, we didn't order this." Sanada said as he stared at the ice cream. The Banana Split only had one spoon in it. "Do I have to pay for this one too?"

"No you don't, it's already been paid for. It's from that guy over there." The waiter pointed towards a different table. Sanada looked over at the other table and his eyes meet one of his team members. He saw Niou. Niou smirked and winked at Sanada.

"…Thank you." Sanada thanked the waiter as she left. Sanada turned his attentions back to Niou. He gave his deadliest death glares at Niou. However it didn't affect him, Niou only smirked back at Sanada. "_Great. Now he thinks Sam and I are going out_."

Sanada looked over to Sam. "I'm not going to have any. You can go ahead and have it." He offered kindly. He slid the ice cream over to Sam.

"I'm ok, Sanada. Anyways I'm full." Sam said looking at the ice cream. "_I wish I could eat it but two hamburgers were enough_."

"Lets go then" Sanada said after he quickly paid for the dinner. Sam stood up and walked over the trash bin to throw away the trash and the whole Banana Split. What Sam didn't know was that Sanada had one ice cube in his hand. With Sanada's perfect aim he slid the ice cube across the floor in Sam direction. Nobody didn't even noticed, not even Sam. The ice cube stopped in front of the trash bin.

-SLIP- Sam slipped on the ice cube. She quickly let go of the tray that carried the Banana Split on it. The Banana Split flew up high as she fell backwards. Once she landed on the floor the Banana Split landed on someone's head. It landed on the guy who happened to sit at the table nearby, Niou.

"I'm so sorry!" Sam quickly stood up and apologized to the ice cream covered guy. Niou didn't say anything. He was in complete shock. "_How could I not see this coming_?"

"Sam. Don't worry about it. It was an accident. Wait for me outside, I can handle this." Sanada said, in more of a ordered tone. He crutch his way over to the scene.

Sam was completely embarrassed. She nodded to Sanada and quickly rushed outside.

Sanada went straight up to Niou. "You're not the only one who can pull a fast one." He glared at Niou. "There is nothing going on between us, got it?!" Niou didn't know what to say. He was still in shock. Not waiting for an answer Sanada left the burger place.

"Let's go." ordered Sanada when he stood outside. He noticed her face was a bit red of embarrassment. "_I'm sorry I had to do that to you_."

"I have to go this way. I'm fine walking alone." Sam said softly, pointing in the other direction. Opposite from where Sanada was going.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Sanada offered softly. Again, he didn't know what over came him. The words happened to slip his mouth.

"I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." Sam said turning around and walking in the other direction. Once again Sam didn't noticed Sanada's sweet side. "See ya!" she turned around and waved at him.

Sanada nodded to her then continued to leave in the other direction.

----------

Sam fell on her bed. "I'm tired." Sam grabbed her schedule, Yanagi gave her, off the nightstand.

**When you get home-Homework  
****Bed-10:30pm/ Wake up-5:30am**

"Well, better get started." Sam sighed. She grabbed her Math book underneath her bed.

----------

Sanada sat on his bed. He didn't realize this but the only thing on his mind was Sam. He remembered what happened at practice, her fainting. "You had me worried, Sam." His mind drifted to her name and thinking about her dad is an American. "I wonder why she's not in America?"

Again his mind went off of them having dinner together. "Hm…I didn't get the chance to ask her if the burgers were good…oh-well. They are anyways."

----------

"I QUIT!" Kirihara slammed his English book shut. "I HATE ENGLISH! I HATE IT!" He looked at his homework. Only two sentences were written.

"ARGH!" he banged his head on his desk a couple of times. "I think I'll call Maru- wait. I'll call Yanagi instead." He grabbed his cell phone. He stopped and stared at his wallpaper on his phone. A soft smile appeared on his face.

On his phone was a picture of Sam smiling sweetly. He secretly took the picture of her when nobody was looking. Sam was practicing with Marui at the time. When she hit her 10 straight net cord, it made her really happy.

"I wish I knew her number." he said grinning. Seeing her smile that sweet calmed down the angry Kirihara. He dialed Yanagi's number. "Hey Yanagi. I need help with English…"

* * *

**End of Day 3.  
Thank you reading. Please review.  
Questions, concerns, or complaints are accepted.**

Thanks.


	9. Only Sanada & Sam

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.**

Enjoy ^^

* * *

Morning came the next day. Sam woke up early around 4 in the morning. An hour and half early to what Yanagi instructed her. Sam was careful to be quiet and not to make any noise that would wake up her mother. She quickly threw on some simple jogging clothes on, and snuck out her bedroom window.

'_Yanagi wrote down…thirty minute jogging, then a twenty-five minute body work out. Hmm…what does he mean by body work out_?_ Oh-well_.' Sam thought, as she looked at the piece of paper that she ripped out of her schedule. '_Well, I better get started_.' Sam started her morning jog.

It was still dark outside. The only light support she had were the street light poles lined up along side the road. Sam didn't have a problem waking up early. In fact, the early mornings were her favorite time of day. Sam continued on jogging in the cool morning breeze.

Around 6:45am, Sam stopped and sat at a nearby river. She had been jogging for an hour; afterwards she started to run for awhile. One she got tired, she walked until she spotted a river and decided to rest a bit.

Sam stared at the dark body of the river. Right over the horizon the sun started to rise in the East. This was why it was one of Sam's favorite time of day. The sunrise. Sam loved it when she got to see the sunrise, especially when the sunlight hits the river. To see the beautiful reflection of the light sparkle with the flow the river.

"It's so beautiful." Sam whisper softly. Tears slowly started to find their way down her face. Seeing the morning rise also brought memorize of her father.

Flashback.

"_Three…Two…ONE!" The sun rose over the mountains. The morning light hit the river showing the sparkles of the lake. "Daddy look!" smiled Sam._

"_Ha, you seem to never get tired of watching the sunrise, do you?" chuckled Sam's father._

"_Nope! I will never get tired of it." Sam said happily. "It's beautiful."_

_Sam's father laughed lightly, "It's beautiful like my little girl." He then took off his black hat and put it on Sam's head. The hat was too big for her and it sunk lower covering her eyes._

"_Hey…Daddy." smiled Sam tilting her head far back, trying to look up at her father. He chuckled and gently pushed the tip of hat lower covering more of her face. Sam started to giggle with her dad._

End of Flashback.

Sam stared at her hat in her hands. "I miss you dad." Unable to hold in the emotion, Sam broke into tears.

----------

After awhile Sam jogged home. She climbed in through her bedroom window. Sam didn't hear anything. '_I guess mom hasn't woken up yet_.' Sam thought, and then she got ready for school.

----------

Later at Rikkai Dai. Lunchtime.

"Genichirou. Can I ask you something?" smiled Yukimura. Sanada knew exactly what Yukimura was going to ask him.

"No." Sanada said. He took a bite of his food.

"How was dinner with Sam last night?" Yukimura asked anyways. Sanada choked on his food, but he tried so hard not to show it.

"Are you ok?" Yukimura saw Sanada wasn't breathing for a while. Sanada's face started to turn deep red. Yukimura quickly handed Sanada some water.

Sanada then broke into a violent cough before drinking some water. "What did I say?!" he glared at Yukimura after he felt a bit better.

"I wanted to know if you two are getting along." Yukimura acted innocent.

"No. We are not getting along! And we never will!" Sanada outburst to Yukimura. "Stop being a matchmaker!" Sanada grabbed his crutch and stormed out, in the fastest pace he could.

Yukimura was a bit surprise by Sanada's little outburst. Then a smile appeared across his face. "I guess Sam hit his sensitive spot."

"Hey Yukimura! Guess what I saw Sanada was doing yesterday?" smirk Niou. He made his way to Yukimura.

"Was Sanada with a girl that looks like his sister?" smiled Yukimura.

"Yeah. Wait, how did you kn-"

"-I told Sanada to take her out yesterday." Yukimura smiled happily. Niou was shocked that his captain did that kind of move to Sanada. His train of thought broke when Yukimura continued. "I'm trying to get Sanada and Sam together."

"Who's Sam?" Niou asked.

"It's her name." Yukimura explained. Then Yukimura told Niou about Sanada saving Sam, which caused his injury. Then Sam taking his spot and Sanada is training her personally afterschool. "Hey, Niou. Want to help me pair them up?"

Niou smirked. "Sure."

----------

Kirihara sat under the same tree. The same tree he always goes during lunch. Kirihara happened to stare at his phone. The wallpaper of Sam smiling. '_She's cute_.'

"Kirihara. What are you doing?" Yagyuu appeared. Yagyuu didn't get why Kirihara was smiling at his phone. "Are you waiting for a call?"

"No." Kirihara quickly hid his phone.

"Then why-" Yagyuu stopped when Marui popped out of nowhere. "Kirihara likes Sam!!" Marui teased Kirihara.

"No I don't!" Kirihara glared at Marui.

"LAIR! I saw that picture of Sam on your phone!" Marui pointed at Kirihara.

"Kirihara likes a guy? An American guy?" Yagyuu felt uncomfortable and backed away.

"NO!" Kirihara yelled. "She's a-" He stopped himself from speaking any further.

"Sam's a girl, Yagyuu." smiled Marui. "She's the one who is going to take Sanada's spot."

"I see." Yagyuu said. He adjusted his glasses. "Do you like Sam, Kirihara?" a smile appeared across his face.

"NO! Sam's only a girl I-" Kirihara couldn't help but blush. "Sam's a friend."

"Ha ha!" Marui laughed out loud. "But your face doesn't agree with you!"

"Shut up! Leave me alone!" Kirihara grabbed his bag and started walking.

Yagyuu cleared his throat. "If you admire her that much, we'll be happy to help you out." Kirihara stopped dead in his tracks. Yagyuu continued. "Marui and I can train you to be a gentleman. Being a gentleman is what captures a girl's heart."

Kirihara thought for a moment before turning to his seniors. "What's in it for the two of you?"

Marui went over to Kirihara and glomped on top of him. "After you and Sam have your first kid, you have to name him after me! Plus I get to be the godfather."

Kirihara's face turned deep rosy red. "H-how do you know it's going to be a boy?" What if it's going to be a girl?"

"I know it's going to be a boy, because I'm a genius!" Marui smiled.

"Fine." Kirihara looked over at Yagyuu. "What about you?"

"I'll make my decision after you two are together." Yagyuu said. Kirihara felt happy that he got some helpers, but then he was embarrassed. Embarrassed about agreeing to the two of them for help.

The rest of the lunch period, Yagyuu and Marui taught Kirihara some basics.

----------

1 hour after Rikkai Dai finished their afterschool practice. Sam arrived to the courts on time. She saw Sanada sitting on the bench alone.

"Hi." Sam greeted. Sanada didn't look at her.

"Start warming up." was all Sanada said. Sam nodded slowly and walked off to do her warm-ups. After warming up, Sam noticed no one else arrived. It was only her and Sanada.

"Sanada. Where are Marui and Kirihara?" Sam asked Sanada.

"I don't know." Sanada replied. He grabbed his crutch. "Come. We'll have a different training." Sam nodded and followed behind him. They headed over to a huge flat wall.

"We're going to test your reflexes." Sanada said. "Will work on this training since none of the others are here, and we don't have rackets." Sam nodded and Sanada continued. "When you play, some opponents will try to strike you head on. Reflexes are important. For now you'll only dodge them."

Sanada pointed to where Sam should stand. Sam stood in the center. Sanada stayed on the side. He used his free hand and grabbed a tennis ball out of the basket. Then Sanada threw the tennis ball at the wall.

The ball bounced. Sam wasn't quick enough and she got hit in the arm. Sanada threw another one. It hit her again on the same arm.

"Hey! I wasn't ready!" Sam shouted as she received another hit.

"They won't wait for you. You always have to be ready for any kind of surprises." Sanada explained and threw another one. This time it hit Sam on the leg.

Sam got irritated. She quickly picked up a random tennis ball around her and threw it back at Sanada. Sanada didn't see it coming. The flying tennis ball knocked out the tennis ball Sanada was holding. "What did you do that for?!" Sanada glared at Sam.

"Stop hitting me!" Sam shouted and threw another. It directly hit the brim of Sanada's hat. His hat flew off his head.

"I'm trying to teach you something! It's your fault for not dodging them!" Sanada grabbed a tennis ball and threw it directly at her. Sam barely dodged it. Then Sanada had an idea. He grabbed another and threw it at her.

"Hey! Now you're doing it on purpose!" Sam shouted. Sam managed to dodge and to grab another one off the ground and threw it at Sanada.

Sanada quickly dodge it with hardly any effort. Practice turned out to be a throwing a tennis ball at each other fight. Sam managed to dodge three fourths, while Sanada completely dodged all her throws even with a crutch.

----------

Sanada gently tossed a ball softly at Sam. It hit her on the top of her head.

"Cut it out Sanada. I'm tired." Sam said as she covered her head. Sam was faced down on the ground, all tired out.

"You don't get it, do you?" Sanada looked bored. Sam looked up from the ground.

"What do you mean? You're the one who started throwing."

"You manage to dodge most of them, but your reflexes are still a bit off." Sanada looked at Sam. "I'll tell you this. You have great aim."

"What do mean? I couldn't even hit you once."

"That was when I was focused. Before, I was cut off guard." Sanada picked up a tennis ball. "When you threw the first one, it knocked the other one out of my hand. Then the second one, you hit the brim of my hat." Sanada looked at Sam, to see her staring back at him. "I'm impressed."

Sam quickly looked away. She felt her face heating up. It was very rare for Sanada to make any comments like that. "But the way, why can't you do it in tennis? Yesterday, you kept hitting the net. Your aiming was way off."

"Holding and swinging a racket is different from throwing bare handed." Sam said. "The aiming feels different to me."

Sanada raised an eyebrow. "Different?"

"I played Baseball before…a long time ago." Sam explained. She sat up. "I don't know…its just different."

Sanada thought it through. '_I think I can come with something that can relate to baseball. It sounds like she was a good player. If I can connect baseball to tennis then Sam will really improve._' "I think will end practice here for today." Sam nodded.

Sam stood up. "Thanks for the harsh lesson." Sam said with a smile. There weren't any signs of marks or bruises from the tennis ball throwing. Sanada only nodded.

Sam started to walk by Sanada, when she slipped on a tennis ball. There happened to be Sanada standing right there when Sam ran into him. Both of them crashed down to the ground. Sam landed on top Sanada, who broke her fall.

Sanada tried to register what had happen, but he couldn't. He felt something soft pressed against his lips. Sam felt the same feeling against hers. Their lips were pressed against each other in a kiss.

Sam quickly pulled away. "I-I-I'm so sorry! I-I-" Sam couldn't speak. She was blushing madly.

It was the first time Sanada found himself blushing madly as well. Thought his face remained calm. "It's fine." Sanada said softly, looking away.

Sam got even redder, when she realized that she was still on top of Sanada. Sam quickly got off of him. "I-I'm sorry! Sorry!"

"I said it was fine." Sanada sat up. He remained calm, but Sam felt so embarrassed. The next thing, Sam felt herself running away from the school.

Sanada sat there. He slowly touched his lips.

* * *

**Please review.  
Questions, concerns, complaints, or flames- i'm open to.  
Sorry for not updating in LONG time.**

I don't know much on sports, so this chapter was made up.  
I don't know why, but I cried when I did the flashback...oh-well, I'll get over it.  
If you were wondering about the others...well, Yagyuu/Marui were teaching Kirihara. Yukimura and Niou were coming up with a plan. Yanagi, I don't know. Doing something. Jackal...he'll be in the story soon.

**Thanks.**


	10. Sanada kissed her hand

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis.  
NO. DX I can't believe I did this. D:**

**This chapter, Sanada & Yanagi are OOC.  
I had to. To make this go where I want it to go.  
...I can't believe I did this D:**

* * *

"Where's Sam?" Marui asked Yukimura. It was afterschool and Rikkai Dai tennis team had finished their practice. The regulars were there except for Sam, Sanada and Yanagi.

"I don't know." Yukimura responded. '_Where are Sanada and Yanagi? I've seen Sanada today, but Yanagi didn't even come to school._'

"Where's Sanada? He's missing too and he's the one training Sam." Marui looked around. Yukimura shrugged. "He'll be here." Yukimura told Marui. Marui nodded and went over to Jackal.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Sanada said. He crutched his way over to Yukimura. "I have to go get a check up on my ankle." Sanada looked at the courts to see no one. "Where's Sam?"

"She hasn't arrived yet." Yukimura explained.

"When Sam arrives, make her run 30 laps. She knows that I won't allow her being late." Sanada said in a strict tone. Inside his head, he was upset. '_Are you avoiding me because of that kiss yesterday?_' Sanada didn't feel a shame about it all. He knew it was an accident.

Yukimura nodded. "What if she doesn't come at all?"

"I don't know. I'll deal with it later." Sanada said. "I have to go now." With that Sanada left. Yukimura waved him goodbye.

----------

Kirihara was mad. '_Where the heck are you Sam?_' He looked at phone to see that Sam was 25 minutes late. Kirihara sighed. '_I hope she's alright_.'

"Hey Kirihara. Did you bring what I told you to bring?" Marui popped out from behind him.

"Yeah I did." Kirihara opened his bad to show a neat package bag. Inside was dinner. Food just made for two people. Marui smiled.

"Marui. I don't get why we're staying late." Jackal looked at Marui with a questioned look.

"We're having another practice. Sanada is training the next person who is going to take his spot for the next match." Marui explained.

"Oh." Jackal was still confused but he didn't want to ask anymore question. He thought he'd just go with the flow.

----------

"Your ankle is healing pretty quickly." smiled the doctor.

"Thank you. When can I start playing tennis again?" Sanada asked. The doctor looked at him.

"Let's wait another four to five days. For now I say you can't play any games." said the doctor. "You don't need the crutch anymore, but that doesn't mean you go all out on your ankle."

Sanada nodded. "I understand. Thank you." The doctor nodded. Sanada bid his goodbye and left.

----------

Sanada slowly walked down the white hallway. His ankle wasn't completely heal, but to the point where he can start to walk on it. While he walked down the hallway, he started to get a painful gut feeling. It was the same gut feeling he had when he first spotted Sam in a tree, but this one was painful. Sanada looked at random door frame. The door was open. As he got closer to that certain door frame, his gut twisted inside of him. At the door, he stopped. One turn he saw his teammate.

"…Renji." Sanada froze at the site he saw. Yanagi was in the hospital. There he laid in the hospital bed cover in cuts and bruises. Parts of his body covered in bandages.

Yanagi didn't respond. Sanada walked slowly into the room. "Renji…what happened?" he could hear the drain in his voice. The worst thing Sanada doesn't like in the world is to see one of his friends hurt or worst…in the hospital. Seeing this brings the worst out of him.

"I'm fine." Yanagi said. He opened his eyes, then turned to Sanada and looked at him. "Don't worry about me…" Yanagi turned his head to the other side where a huge curtain spread half way across the room. "…but I think you should be more worried about her."

"What do you mean?" Sanada asked. He stared at the curtain Yanagi was looking at. He could feel something was wrong.

"Sam needs you, Genichirou." Yanagi said softly. Sanada quickly walked to the curtains and pushed it aside. He couldn't believe what he saw. He wanted to fall over.

Sanada clenched the curtains tightly. "Renji…what happened?" his voiced demanded an answer.

Yanagi stared at the ceiling. "It was a hit and run." Yanagi said coldly. Sanada walked over to Sam. Her eyes were closed. Tubes were in her arms. Bandages wrapped around her arms and shoulders. They were everywhere. Cut and bruises were visible.

Sanada couldn't help but felt his hands trembled. He didn't want to believe it. '_No…no…this is not happening…NO!_'

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Sanada stayed in that room all day. He sat next to Sam's bed, holding onto her hand the whole time. Sanada heard from the doctors that Sam's condition was stable. Yanagi is doing fine; he's in fair condition. Sanada is glad Yanagi is doing fine, but Sam…he's scared.

Yanagi decided to tell Sanada what happened. "…Yesterday. I walked out the bookstore and Sam ran into me…her face was all red. I asked her who she was running from." Yanagi smiled a little. "She told me that she was running from you. She said, 'I accidently kissed Sanada and he's going to kill me by making me run laps.'…" Yanagi chuckled a little.

Sanada looked at Sam and felt himself smile a little. "…I told her not to worry about it." Sanada then thought that if a guy did that. He sure would have made him run laps, but Sam. He wouldn't have done that.

"What happened?" Yanagi asked. He looked over at Sanada. "Did she come up to and confessed?"

Sanada shook his head. "No, it wasn't like that. She accidently slipped on a tennis ball and ran into me." Sanada looked at Yanagi. "Renji-"

"Don't worry. I won't tell Seiichi or the others." Yanagi cut in. Sanada nodded. "Thank you Renji."

"Anyways, I took her out to eat since she hasn't eaten anything. We talked for awhile and it was getting late. I told her I'll walk her most of the way home. So, we walked together." Yanagi paused for a while. "Halfway there…a crazy driver turned sharply around the corner. It was coming at us so fast; we didn't have time to get out of the way. Both of us were hit head on."

Sanada looked at Sam. Her eyes were still closed…no response. The next thing caught Sanada's attention. It was Yanagi. Sanada could hear small sobs from Yanagi.

"The last I remember before we got hit…Just seconds before. Sam screamed my name and jumped in front of me." Yanagi's voice trembled. Tears slowly came down his face. "She risked her life for me…After we were hit, I didn't care about me. All I could think of was Sam. I didn't care about the pain I was in…I ran to her and there she was…" Yanagi clenched the blankets tightly in his fist. His knuckles turned white.

"She wasn't moving at all…There was so much blood. I yelled her name, but she didn't respond. I should have been the one-"

"Renji. Don't pin this on yourself. It wasn't your fault at all, neither was it Sam's." Sanada said. "Sam's glad she has you as a friend. I'm glad. You were the one who stayed with her up until now. Don't blame yourself."

Yanagi nodded. Sanada looked at Yanagi. "Get some rest. You need it." he told Yanagi.

Yanagi nodded again. He rolled over onto his side, his back faced Sanada and Sam. Yanagi wanted to give Sanada some privacy with Sam.

Sanada looked at his hand, which had Sam's hand in his. Her hand small and soft compared to his. Sanada rested his elbows on the bed next to her. He brought her hand to his forehead, then to his lips. He kissed her hand softly. '_Please wake up soon_.'

----------

Yanagi woke up from his sleep. He looked at the time, to see that it was midnight. Yanagi then turned his head to Sam's bed. He didn't see anything different, and that upset him.

'_Where's Genichirou?_' Yanagi thought. A small smile appeared when he saw him. Yanagi saw Sanada's head resting on the bed next to Sam's arm. What made Yanagi smile…Sanada hasn't let go of her hand. '_He's going to have some back pain in the morning_.'

Yanagi slowly got out bed. He walked over to Sanada. "Genichirou." He whispered. Sanada didn't move. "Gen-ich-irou…" he said louder.

Nothing. Yanagi frowned. '_He's sure a heavy sleeper_.' Yanagi thought of something, but he knew Sanada was going to get really angry with him. He did it anyway. "Sanada. Sam died."

Sanada quickly woke up. "Sam!" He looked at Sam to see that she was the same before. Then he saw Yanagi next to him. "Renji!"

"I'm sorry. I had to wake you up." Yanagi explained. In his head he estimated how many laps he was going to get from him later on, after he gets out of the hospital.

"Why?" Sanada straighten his back.

"You're going to get back pains if you sleep like that." Yanagi went over to Sam and carefully moved her to one side. "You can sleep next to her."

"Are you sure?" Sanada asked. "What about the nurses?"

"They won't mind." Yanagi stated. "It's either Sam or me. I don't think it would be right between you and me. Then there is always the option you can go home."

"I'm not leaving. Not until Sam wakes up and is fine." Sanada said in a strict tone.

"Fine. Here." Yanagi handed Sanada one of the blankets from his bed. "Get some rest." Sanada took it. Yanagi returned to his bed. He wasn't tired anymore, so he turned on the TV. He kept the volume down.

Sanada climbed in bed next to Sam. The bed felt soft and comfortable…soon Sanada fell fast asleep.

----------

Outside the door, a couple of nurses happened to see Sanada sleeping next to Sam.

"Aww. That's so sweet." one of the nurses smiled.

"That is sweet. I wish my man was like that." said another nurse. "Those kind of boyfriends are hard to find."

"Yeah. Those two are going to be a happy loving couple when they get married."

"Have you heard anything from the parents yet?" the nurse asked the other.

"About three hours ago her mother called again to check up on her."

"I guess she's busy tracking the guy down. She must be really upset…" said the nurse.

"Yeah. I think it's sad that she hasn't even come to see her daughter." said the other nurse. "I talked to her about her daughter conditions…she told me if her daughter doesn't wake up in two days, she going to send her to America."

"America? Who's going to watch her over there?"

"When I talked to her, she said something about her daughter's father. I couldn't hear clearly because it sounded like she hates the guy."

"Poor girl…"

"Yeah…"

* * *

**Review please. Please give me feedback.**

I can't believe I did that to Sam D: My poor OC. D:  
Ok. If you were wondering...  
I don't think sprain ankles heal in four days...? For this story it just does. (because the timing of this story)  
Sam has not waken up since the hit & run. Sanada is worried...He's in that caring mood. He has deep feelings towards Sam, but is not admitting to them yet.  
Yanagi sees the feelings, but is not forcing Sanada. (unlike Yukimura & Niou) Yanagi is not in Yukimura plans.  
**Yup. Sam's father is alive.  
****  
Any more question, just ask me.  
Thanks.  
MyPrinceOishi08**


	11. Waiting

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Prince of Tennis. except Sam.  
**Sorry for not updating in forever. ///  
I am rewriting the story. D: The first two chapters are already rewritten.

Enjoy. Sorry about the OOC.

* * *

Sanada slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't get much sleep. All he could think about was Sam. The first thing he saw was Sam's face. Her eyes still closed…and also she was in the same position since he saw her in the hospital. Then he heard the machine going…

'Beep'…'Beep'…'Beep'

'_Wake up. Wake up Sam_.' He looked down to where his hand held onto hers. '_Please Sam…_' Sanada then slowly let go of her hand, and brought it up to her face. He gently touched her softly. '_Please wake up…wake up for me_.'

Nothing happened. Sanada sighed. "I don't know if you can hear me, Sam. I need you to wake up soon…I'm not leaving until you wake up." Sanada found himself gave a quick peek on her forehead, and then he quickly sat up from the bed. He cheeks turned bright pink. '_What am I doing?_'

"You like her, don't you?" Yanagi asked. He had witnessed the whole thing.

"No." Sanada said in his emotionless tone. '_I can't believe I forgot Renji was in the same room. What's wrong with me?!_'

"Genichirou. This isn't like you at all. I had never seen you been so soft to someone before." Sanada didn't look at Yanagi or say anything. Yanagi sighed. "It's ok to having feelings for Sam, Genichirou. That's normal. Be careful of what you do though. If you don't have any feelings towards her, don't do what a boyfriend would do."

Sanada turned to look at Sam. '_Have I really gotten soft? Do I have any feelings for Sam?...Why am I acting this way? This isn't me at all._' "Renji?" Sanada asked in confused tone.

"Hm?" Yanagi looked over towards Sanada.

"…Am I in Love?" The question really surprised Yanagi. Yanagi never thought Sanada would ask that question in his life, by the type of guy he is. He never expected the very tiny percent of Sanada's soft side to ever show.

"Well…" Yanagi thought for a moment. "…Do you feel different every time you see Sam?"

Sanada didn't know how to respond to the question. "No." Then Sanada thought about the past few days. "…I don't know…but right now, I don't want to leave her side."

Yanagi gave a weak smile. "Guess that's not enough data for me to tell you."

"Renji, is it bad to fall in love?"

"No. It isn't bad at all, but it can be." Yanagi said. Sanada looked over at him. "Love is a strong feeling. It really can make a person happy. However…" Yanagi opened his eyes. "Genichirou. If you're going to have a relationship with Sam…don't break her heart."

Sanada thought about what Yanagi had told him. Sanada felt himself took hold of Sam's hand. For now, he was mixed with different feelings. Feelings that twisted his stomach this way and that. '_What if I am really in love with Sam? No, I can't be. Why am I holding her hand? I don't know…I can't be in love. I only met Sam a few days ago and…and…_' Sanada questioned himself, and he couldn't answer them.

"Now tell me the truth, Genichirou. You like Sam don't you?" Yanagi smirked.

Sanada turned to Yanagi and glared at him. "Don't you dare tell anyone. Especially Seiichi."

Yanagi nodded. '_I'll take that as a yes_.' "I'm hungry. Hey Genichirou, lets go get something to eat." Yanagi looked over at Sanada to see him only staring at Sam. "You know, Sam is going to be upset if you don't eat something."

'_Will she really_?' Sanada thought about it. '…_Will she really_?'

Yanagi got out of bed. "Sam will be alright." He walked out the door.

Sanada slowly nodded. '_Sam 'will' be alright_.' He slowly let go of Sam's hand. "I'll be back, Sam. Don't leave me…not yet. I have something to tell you." Sanada leaned over and quickly kissed her softly. He felt a faint blush crept over his cheeks. '…_This isn't me_.' Sanada took a deep breath and his hard facial expression overpowered.

Yanagi didn't see what had happen. Yanagi had gone to talk with one of the doctors at the time, and asked if he could leave with his friend for lunch. The doctor said it was alright.

Sanada walked out of the room and meet Yanagi out the door. The two left and headed to the hospital lunch area.

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"SEIICHI!" Marui yelled out loud. Marui quickly ran over to Yukimura, who was having lunch by the school tennis court.

"What is it Marui?" Yukimura asked. Yukimura could clearly see the panic in Marui.

"IT'S RENJI!" Marui burst out.

"Renji?" Yukimura didn't like the sound of it.

"Renji is in the hospital!" Marui exclaimed. "Sam is in the hospital too!"

"What?!" Yukimura stood up. "What happened?" Yukimura demanded an answer.

"It was on the news. Yanagi and Sam were hit head on by a drunk driver!" Marui couldn't stay still. "I told Kirihara and he already ran off campus!"

Yukimura looked straight at Marui. "What's their condition?" he asked in a serious tone, his eyes piercing. Like Sanada, Yukimura didn't like one of his friends hurt. It really brought the worst out of him. He knew what it felt like when he had been in the hospital. He never liked it one bit.

"Yanagi's in fair condition. Recovering." Then Marui's expression and voice dropped. Marui became more upset. "Sam…s-she's stable…They're saying she won't make it."

Yukimura clenched his fist. "Sam doesn't deserve this at all. Forget school, Marui." Marui looked at Yukimura. "Lets go. Get the others because we're leaving now." Marui nodded and ran off to find the others.

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'_I knew something was wrong_…' Kirihara sprinted down the street to the hospital. '_I'm coming Sam. Don't you dare leave me_…'

At the hospital. The nurse directed Kirihara to Sam and Yanagi's room.

"Thank you." Kirihara thanked before the nurse left.

Kirihara saw Sam lying there…he saw the cuts and bruises…the bandages. Everything he never wanted Sam's condition to be in. Kirihara walked over next to her bed. "Sam…I'm here." Kirihara felt a painful feeling in his chest.

Sam started to move around slightly. Sam's movement caught Kirihara's attention. "Sam?"

Sam moved a bit more. Kirihara placed his hands on the sides of her face. "Sam?" Sam slowly tried to open her eyes. "Sam?"

"Kirihara?" Sam whispered slowly. She couldn't fully open her eyes. "…I'm sorry, Kiri…hara."

"Don't you dare say that Sam. This isn't your fault." Kirihara bent down and placed his forehead softly on Sam's forehead. "Don't say that. Don't you dare say that." Kirihara's voice cracked in mixed emotions. He felt his hands trembling. Kirihara was deeply thankful. Thankful that Sam was still alive and awake.

"Kirihara?" Sam didn't bother to try to open her eyes. She's was too tired to. Sam slowly brought her hand to his face. Softly tracing her fingers down his cheek…she felt tears. Sam felt this strong emotion overcome her…Kirihara was crying because of her. Tears slowly flowed down her face.

"Don't cry Sam." Kirihara said softly. Sam couldn't control the strong emotion, more tears trailed down. Sam put her arms around him and cried. Kirihara sat down on the bed and pulled Sam up closer to his body, being very very careful with her injuries. He held on to her closely and let her cry. Sam clenched the shirt on his back.

----------

"Are you ok?" Kirihara whispered. He hadn't let go of his hold around Sam.

"Yeah…I'm ok." Sam quietly said. Kirihara loosen one arm and brought it down. He took Sam's hand.

"This might be the worst timing but I wanted to tell you…" Kirihara started to blush. "…I wanted to tell you I'll always be here for you." He took a deep breath. "I like you Sam."

Sam blushed a deep red color. "We-we haven't meet that long-"

"I know that, but I can't stop thinking about you. I want to get to know you better." Kirihara said. "Sam…would you like to go out with me…when you're feeling better?"

Sam looked down to where he held onto her hand softly. She thought about it for a bit. "…okay Kirihara." Sam looked up at Kirihara and smiled softly. "Okay I'll go out with you."

Kirihara was happy. He smiled at Sam and carefully hugged her.

Sanada stood in silence right by the door. He couldn't believe what he heard. When he walked in, the last thing he heard was '_Okay I'll go out with you._'

* * *

**Please review.  
^^ Kirihara need his part in the story...but will it stay this way? o.o  
Please vote in my profile. There is a three way tie and I still can't decide. -**

**Thank you for those who are supporting me with this story. ^^**

MyPrinceOishi08


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